City Officials OK Funding to Dredge Milford Stream

The Milford Board of Aldermen Monday approved federal funding to dredge parts of the Calf Pen Meadow Creek.

The project, estimated at more than $100,000, will mitigate flooding issues in the coastal community by emptying drainage ditches that are clogged in the waterway with sand and debris from Hurricane Sandy.

The buildup has artificially elevated water levels of the creek and hampered the flow between the stream and Long Island Sound.

The city is responsible for matching 25 percent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $100,000 allocation.

But Milford Mayor Ben Blake says the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has indicated it will foot that portion of the bill.

Blake says the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the DEEP, is heading the project and currently coordinating with city engineers.

The dredging will use low-pressure machinery and is expected to be completed by December.